


Ascension: Act I- Revival

by TheGhost_InMe



Series: Ascension (Code Geass fanfiction) [1]
Category: Code Geass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Amnesia, Good and Evil, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23664520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGhost_InMe/pseuds/TheGhost_InMe
Summary: Code Geass fanfiction: Sienna Asplund is a Britannian teen without many ambitions in life. She lives an uneventful life in her guardian's, Madame Crowley, dance school, but seeks greater prospects in this swiftly changing, brave new world. With encouragement from Crowley, she enrols at the prestigious Ashford Private Academy, inadvertently setting into motion a chain of critical events that will not only reshape her life, and the lives of those around her, but permanently scar the annals of history with her name: Sienna la Asplund, the reaper of Britannia.
Series: Ascension (Code Geass fanfiction) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703956





	1. Prologue

**The first thing**

**I remember after**

**The fire and the pain**

**...Is darkness**

**Eternal darkness.**

**I still feel cold.**

**But there**

**Was... Something**

****

**...**

**A light.**

**Like fire**

**...**

**It was warm**

**It warmed**

**me from**

**the inside out.**

**Thinking back now,**

**it felt like being**

**surrounded by**

**my mother's**

**tender arms.**

**I felt...**

**...Loved.**


	2. Chapter I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> History of the world is briefly touched on, and main character is introduced.

**3rd June, 2015 a.t.b**

"Faster."

A single long, perfectly straight row of girls, all of varying ages, moved and twirled in almost perfect sync. They all stared straight ahead, only the younger members of the dance allowing any form of emotion to slip onto their faces. The spacious hall they danced in could have been bustling with several more, longer rows, but the nature of the majority of the girls there put off anyone else that wasn't like them from joining.

All of the girl's hair were tied back in tight, sleek buns. They wore immaculate, creamy white bodices, that were attached to spotless tutu's. Their ballet flats were tied to their legs with long ribbons of silk that run up their shins but did not appear to be tied anywhere. Each girl also carried a fan of a different colour in their right hand, tipped with soft, downy feathers, and whisked them through the air, and snapped them open and closed in timing to create a low, constant rustle throughout the hall, that was as captivating as it was unsettling in the otherworldly silence.

At the front of the hall was a tall, severe looking woman with long dark hair also tied up in a bun, and long stick in her right hand. She walked up and down the line as the children danced, inspecting each dancer individually, and stopping for longer than was wanted on the older ones. No girl in the room could keep their anxiety to please her off their faces.

The dance had been going on for around half an hour now, and some of the younger girls could no longer keep up with the pace. As the more experienced dancers, spread evenly across the line could tell, their movements were becoming more sluggish, and they could no longer keep their heads up. Pain rippled through their legs in steady succession, though most knew to hide it from their faces.

Mercifully, however, the final music piece, played from an antique gramophone, came to an end. The dancers spun around to face the front of the hall, clasping their hands around their fans downward, and waited in silence for the woman's approval.

She walked up and down the line one last time, not stopping at any person but regarding them all with care, before reaching the end and slamming her long stick into the ground. The thunderous sound, that echoed off the dance hall's wall, was swiftly drowned out as all 12 girls collapsed to the floor, their exhaustion and muscle fatigue from enduring the long session immediately catching up with them.

The woman walked back down the line of heavily breathing girls and stopped in front of a timid, skeletal girl, who was staring down at ground apologetically. The woman towered over her and glowered down at her, her hand still wrapped tightly around the stick. The pale girl beside her, felt a rush of nausea run over her. She couldn't tell if Madame was going to speak with her, or the little girl next to her.

"Hana," she asked, her voice cutting cleanly above the sound of heavy breathing in the room. The older girl breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't her. "I believe I've gone over this routine with you before. Is there any particular reason why your moves were so sloppy today? You've been losing your position in the line throughout, and leaning towards Sienna."

Yes, she had indeed been closing the gap between them throughout the course of the dance, Sienna thought. However, she had been at the school, and danced along with new students to know why. She was trying to copy Sienna's moves, that were well practiced and refined from 5 years addending Madame Crowley's small dance school. However, she also knew why Hana's moves had been so sloppy. 

Madame Crowley glanced down at Sienna and tilted her head to the side. Sienna nodded affirmatively. They both knew the problem.

"Take off your flats, Hana." Madame instructed, kneeling down in front of her, all sternness wiped from her face and replaced with a look of concern. The girl's face widened into one helpless terror. She cast pleading glances over at the other girls in the line but was met with only looks of confusion, or among the older girls, amused pity.

Her short patience worn thin, Madame reached forward and slipped off one of Hana's flats. Her foot was red and beginning to blister, as Sienna already knew it would be. What surprised her, however, was the multitude of blisters from previous occasions. To have danced while her feet were in such a condition would have been immensely painful. That she kept the agony off her face was both impressive and tragic.

Hana tried to hide her foot under her tutu and fan, but to no avail. All nearby, most importantly Madame Crowley and Sienna, had seen the state of her feet. Madame sighed and pinched the brow of her nose.

"Hana, I though I told you not to push yourself."

Hana's body began to shake as small tears she couldn't keep in began to drip drop onto her tutu and clenched hands. "Yes, Madame."

"I told you that you would injure yourself if you did any more practice than outside those extra lessons I did with you."

The young girl lacked both the will and the words to say anything more than another, "Yes, Madame."

Both Sienna and Madame Crowley had dealt with situations like this before. The Japanese has been well know for hard work before the invasion, but this time Sienna thought that there was more fuelling Hana's desperation to learn than mere determination.

Madame stood up and slammed her stick against the ground twice. It was her signal, that she was about to give an order. "From now on, Hana, until your injuries are healed, I will not permit you to actively participate in dance lessons. You can watch from the side so you don't fall too far behind, but you will not be doing any ballet until your feet heal. Nyoko," Madame addressed the another Japanese girl, to Hana's left. "Can I trust you to keep an eye on Hana, and make sure she doesn't put any more excess pressure on her feet?"

Nyoko, who was lying on her back, exhausted, gave Madame a silent thumbs up. Crowley nodded and turned to speak with some other girl further down the line, but Hana shot up, her eyes wide and panicked.

"Madame, please! I can still dance! I don't need to be held back." Despite her desperate words, it was clear, to Sienna at least, from the way she was standing that she most definitely could not dance. At least, she couldn't dance without some serious pain. Madame turned her head and gave Hana an exasperated look. Over the past five years of her enrolment at Madame's dance school, Sienna had seen several of the Japanese students stuck in a similar mindset. It seemed that it was time for the school's newest student to have her parent's training undone as well.

Madame came back over to Hana and glared down at her, the irritation clear in her eyes. "Hana, I don't care what your parents told you. I am not like other Britannians. I will not send you back into the ghetto because you are too injured to keep up with the rest of the class."

The look in Hana's eyes changed from one of panic, to one of surprise and confusion. "But, Haha and Chichi said I would be expelled if I fell behind. Please, Madame, I don't want to go back-"

Madame cracked her stick against the floor again. "If you fail your exam, and then your remedial exam, you will be expelled. Not if you're falling behind. And I will take things like injury into account when grading you. You don't have to be so paranoid."

Sienna cast Hana a look of pity. She herself was not to blame for Hana's and the other Japanese girls predicaments, but she felt a sense of guilt none the less. After all, it was her nation, the Holy Empire of Britannia, that five years previously, had defected and occupied the island nation of Japan.

The war itself was something Sienna had studied extensively, as part of her education. The war had been instigated after the Empire's Emperor, Charles zi Britannia, colonised the Indonesian Peninsula. This action lead to harsh economic sanctions placed against the Empire from the United Democratic Republic of Europia, Chinese Federation, but most importantly, the then neutral nation of Japan. Japan was, and still was, the world's largest producer of sakuradite, containing an estimated 72% of the worlds global reserves. Sakuradite had become an invaluable superconductor to all of the worlds main superpowers; the EU, the Chinese Federation, and the Britannian Empire, and the Japanese government used this to their advantage; exploiting the rare mineral as a bargaining chip on the international market, racking up prices for all consumer nations to increase its own revenue.

The Indonesia incident had lead to Japan abandoning its neutrality stance and signing treaties with both the EU and the Chinese Federation, and thereby entering a state of hostility towards Britannia. However, the economic sanctions placed against Britannia by Japan and its allies, had only antagonised Britannia further. In the lead up to the war there were many incidents, in which Britannia attempted to goad Japan into a fight, to no avail. Most of the incidents, such as the Ishigaki incident, involved forces of the Britannian military, ignoring international borders and trespassing in Japanese territory, but not actually doing any damage so that Japan could not properly retaliate.

Finally, in early July, of 2010 a.t.b., negotiations for a peaceful resolution broke down and both nations severed diplomatic ties. Just a few weeks later, on the 10th August, the Holy Britannian Empire invaded Japan. Before the war, the Japanese people believed that if one superpower invaded Japan then the other two would move to protect Japan, in order to secure their supply of sakuradite. However, due to careful manoeuvring by Emperor Charles, to redirect international attention to west Africa, the invasion into Japan came as a complete surprise, as no one thought that Britannia would risk global reprisals by declaring war.

While opinions were very split on this matter, Sienna was one of the people whom believed that no matter how long the second Pacific war dragged on for, the EU and Chinese Federation wouldn't have intervened. As far as the vast majority of the EU's population was concerned, the invasion was just some incident in the Far East. The government was no better either. No nation wanted to go to war with Britannia for Japan's sake, so the national representatives in the Grande Council stalled any action, and spent their time discussing trivial or minor consequences of a Britannian occupation of Japan. As for the Chinese Federation, they were already aiming to install a puppet regime in Japan anyway, and didn't want to go to war with Britannia to protect Japan's independent. As a result, even towards the end of the war, the Japanese government turned down any and all offers of "protection" from the Chinese Federation.

As for the war itself, Britannia declared war by launching air strikes against strategically invaluable locations across Japan. They argued that the attacks would declare the war themselves, so there was no need to issue a formal declaration. As much as Sienna found that act dishonest, and dishonourable, she had to admit that there was a callous logic behind it.

Once Britannian troops landed on the Japanese mainland on August 13th (a Friday, no less), the Empire unveiled it's newest, and most advanced weapon; the Autonomous Knightmare Frame. The Knightmares were humanoid robots, equipped with speed, manoeuvrability, adaptability, and sheer destructive power, unmatched by other armoured land units at the time. As a result, the Knightmares overcame and obliterated the comparatively outdated lines of defence on the Japanese mainland. Despite their overwhelming success, however, KMF pilots saw high casualties throughout the war, due to the Japanese government's choice to declare do-or-die resistance; a decision many ordinary Japanese soldiers stuck to until the bitter end.

Britannian superiority in the air, as well as at sea, meant that the Japanese military was overwhelmed by the end of the month. Following the collapse of the official Japanese government, a provincial government was set up by the six houses of Kyoto, who formally surrendered to Britannia on the 2nd September. The Prime Minister, Genbu Kururugi, committed suicide upon hearing of his country's defeat.

Britannia renamed Japan, Area 11, as it was the eleventh formally recognised "protectorate" of the Empire. It's people, the once proud Japanese, were denied Britannian citizenship, and rechristened "elevens"; the exact same modus operandi the Empire had used on the people of Areas 3 through 10. The Empire built settlements across Area 11, such as the capitol of Area 11- the Tokyo Settlement, where Madame Crowley's dance school was located. The local government did nothing to rebuild the Japanese cities that had been destroyed during the invasion, instead classifying them as ghettos and the residential districts for elevens.

Under the honorary Britannian system, it was possible for conquered numbers to gain honorary citizenship in the Empire, but in Area 11 had been rare to see anyone but members of the former middle class, or those in real need of basic human rights applying for citizenship in the first few years of the occupation.

With the exception of Sienna, who was a full blooded Britannian, all the students at Madame's dance school were honorary Britannians. Their parents, all former Japanese middle class who had applied for honorary citizenship not long after the invasion, had heard of Madame's offer to take both full and honorary Britannians into her dance school, and many quickly applied to send their daughters there, as a way of getting them back into society. It didn't matter how smart or well educated the girls were; honorary Britannians would never be allowed to advance into respectable or high positions in Britannian society, so there was no point in the girls attending a regular school. Being dancers, however, gave them the chance to travel as entertainers across the area, one of the few careers in which honorary Britannians stood a chance of making a career out of - which was what their parents were counting on.

However, the girls would never be able to rise above a Britannian in standing. It didn't matter how good they were, or if they felt more Britannian than Japanese. They were not born Britannians, and that xenophobic racism that was so deeply ingrained into Britannian society would always hold them back.

It wasn't like Sienna had much going for herself either, though. The fact that she lived comfortably with, and excepted elevens as her equals, was a serious strike against her in the eyes of most of her fellow Britannians, the aristocracy, and the government. She had no noble lineage to call upon for social status or protection, and no connections to members of the court either. Even her name was dull; it just meant reddish-brown, not a very thrilling name for an aspiring... well, Sienna didn't know what she wanted to do with herself, even at 15 years old. Another strike against her in the eyes of Britannian society. In a country who's main philosophy was that of social Darwinism, one was expected to always be striving towards something; fighting a cutthroat battle with their fellows to emerge as the superior. Sienna had didn't have any long term goals to aim for, nor was she particularly competitive. Both traits frowned upon by Britannian society.

The only thing Sienna really had going for her was why she was an orphan. Both her parents had been soldiers (common soldiers at that, so it still wasn't much of a step up) who died in Britannia's service during the Second Pacific War. Sienna only had fleeting memories of her parents and her life before they died, though not enough to remember their faces or any notable locations. She did remember Madame, a tall man whose face she could no longer remember any details from, a few kids from the neighbourhood, and a park with huge dome shaped glasshouses. According to Crowley, it had been a local botanic garden her parents used to take her to on a regular basis.

Madame Crowley had been a close friend of her mother's, and after her and her father's deaths, Crowley moved her dance school to Area 11, and took Sienna under her wing as her first student. There had been several other Britannian families that had requested to send their daughters to the school as well, but when word got out that Madame was excepting honorary Britannians as students, all those families withdrew their applications.

There weren't many Japanese families that wanted to send their daughters to the school either though. Most of the girls there were in the Japanese middle class before the invasion, and a few, such as Hana, had been enrolled by their parents as a way of keeping them out of the ghettos. No one, not even Sienna, was in the school because they wanted to learn how to dance. It was simply a survival tactic. A way of staying out of the ghettos, securing a temporary location to rest in, and planing for the future.

The fact that (almost) no one in the school actually cared about what Madame was teaching them infuriated Madame to no end. As a full blooded Britannian, Sienna was the only one with a secure future, and could dream of better things than the dance school. Even though she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life, she did know that if she wanted to peruse higher education she wouldn't be able to do so if she graduated from a small dance school on the edge of the Tokyo Settlement. As a result, two days following the dance routine that saw Hana being put on injury leave, at Madame's encouragement Sienna found herself inside the main hall of Ashford Private Academy, sitting an entrance exam that little to her knowledge, would set in motion a chain of key events, destined to change both herself and the world, and permanently scar the annals of history with her name- Sienna la Asplund, the reaper of Britannia.


	3. Chapter II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sienna arrives at Ashford Academy to sit the entrance exam, and runs into and old acquaintance from her childhood.

**7th June, 2015 a.t.b**

The sound of anxious chatter and mutterings filled the gaudy antechamber, as close on a hundred Ashford applicants attempted to cram as much knowledge into their heads as possible. Sienna, despite having been studying for the entrance exams for well over a month, was among them. She has applied to sit Maths, Britannian, Biology, Chemistry, History, Computing Science, Music, and Economics, and had sat the entrance exams for all but history, which she was preparing for now.

She wasn't alone, however. Madame had accompanied her to the school grounds but had disappeared to the bathroom 20 minutes ago, and not returned since. Sienna wasn't complaining, though. With Madame's overbearing presence gone, she was free to chat with her friend without interruption.

The friend in question was one Shirley Fenete; a bubbly, budding young athlete with a penchant for getting herself into trouble, yet emerging unscathed from every unfortunate confrontation she found herself in. Sienna and Shirley has been friends for four years, and in that time had become near inseparable, unless Madame, and Joseph and Natalie Fenete conspired to drag the two girls away to separate locations; a solution that would no longer be enforceable, if Sienna managed to successfully enter Ashford Academy.

As much as the pair currently wanted to spend their time catching up, or talking about those things that _all_ teenage girls liked to talk about (what so-and-so did at you-know-who's party, the latest terrorist attack, a brand new phone model- standard topics of conversation), Sienna had vouched to cram as much knowledge into her noggin as humanly possibly in the time remaining. Shirley, had been drafted into testing her.

"What were the main factors that lead to the defeat of the revolutionaries in the rebellion of the thirteen colonies?"

"The fact that Benjamin Franklin was ineffective in his role as a diplomat to the French, and King Louis was only willing to send limited aid which wasn't enough to turn to war in the revolutionaries favour, and did not declare outright war on Britain. The death of the rebel Commander-in-Chief, George Washington, at the Siege of Yorktown, leading to a series of incompetent commanders being put in change. And, by offering freedom to any slaves who fought for them, the British army was able to secure a large amount of fighting power, as well as spies within the ranks of the revolutionary guard."

"What factors lead to the British naval defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar?"

"Napoleon decided to use the old aristocratic navel officers on individual ships, who had experience from the revolution of the thirteen colonies. The French had more, superior ships, and building technology and supplies. The French naval commander Guillaume Leblanc used aggressive tactics, paired with his superior ships to inflict heavy casualties on the British ships. Leblanc was also able to gain large amounts of public support for the navy through his victories in the Mediterranean."

"Good, all right," Shirley mumbled, her head hidden behind Sienna's notes. "Factors that lead to Britannian and European victory in the Great War?"

"Britannian officials were able to bribe the High Eunuchs out of directly fighting in the war, robbing the Soviets of their main source of manpower. Britannia didn't enter the war until quite late in the conflict, but had a strong economy and was well armed after selling weapons to the Europeans. Germany was able to build vast quantities of machinery to win the war, and developed weapons that were technologically superior to the Soviets. The Soviet soldiers were poorly trained and equipped, and couldn't stand against European or Britannian troops."

Both girls paused as Shirley flipped through the binder. "Don't you need to know about the seventh expansionary war? You don't have any notes on it."

Sienna blanched. "If I do then I'm done for. But, it wasn't on the curriculum."

Shirley placed the binder down on the coffee table in front of the two girls, revealing her shamrock green eyes and long ginger hair. She took out her small pink phone (chosen by yours truly) and proceeded to search for the 11th year's history curriculum at Ashford Private Academy.

"It says that you need to know about the Rebellion of the Thirteen Colonies, the Age of Revolution and Humiliation of Edinburgh, The Great War, and the Emblem of Blood period."

Both girls breathed massive sighs of relief.

"Well, thank Britannia for that," Sienna leaned back into the sofa and allowed some of her tension to bleed out. She cast Shirley an mocking, incredulous glance. "Oh, alas, alas! Mine poor wretched heart doth bleed in anguish! Art thou so cruel as to be a deceiver? False informer with unparalleled majesties of-"

The redhead shoved a pillow into Sienna's face. "Alright, put a sock in it Shakespeare, you sound like Milly." Her own voice also turned to a sarcastic, put-up tone. "What factors lead to the successful overthrow of the false emperor, Eowyn de Britannia, by his _Imperial majesty_ , 98th emperor Charles zi Britannia?"

Throwing the pillow back at Shirley's face (which she, of course, caught), Sienna cleared her throat and returned the saucy look. "His _Imperial Majesty_ , Charles zi Britannia, held the backing of many major noble families, by promising to make their daughters his queens if they helped him ascend to power. The false emperor, Eowyn de Britannia, lacked public support due to his failings to keep the economy afloat. The false emperor had encouraged his heirs to fight and kill each other to gain the throne, setting in motion the Emblem of Blood period; his _Imperial majesty_ , Charles zi Britannia, persuaded those heirs, tired of the killings, to rally behind him and overthrow the false emperor. And finally, his _Imperial Majesty_ had strong allies within very useful places; namely, Sirs Bismarck Waldstein, Michele Manfredi, and Leonards Eliot, and Dame Marianne Lamperouge within the false emperor's Knights of the Round, and Field Marshal -then Captain- Gabriel Asplund holding sway over large portions of the armed forces and nobility."

"Heh," Shirley slid over to her to proceed with her teasing. "How does it feel to share your last name with the great Gabriel Asplund? Don't you feel honoured?"

Sienna snorted. "Well, _of course_! Sharing a name and no common lineage with a man who would neither know, or care about who I am, and deserted his post at the darkest hour, is something I hold dear to my heart."

The girl tried to make another sarcastic comment towards her friend, tried to poke at Shirley for her common lineage as well, when a strange sensation came upon her. She could still see clearly, in fact, she could see everything even more clearly. Her vision sharpened, body tensed up, and her hearing could seemed to become more sensitive, but only to things nearby. It was as though her body had entered a paralysed state, but Sienna retained the ability to move freely.

It felt like her body had entered a totally panicked state, fight or flight, but the only fear Sienna felt was from the unnerving suddenness of her current condition. But, there was one more thing that disturbed her. As time seemed to slow down around her, and Shirley's mouth opened and closed slowly as she tried and get Sienna's attention, a strange voice echoed from somewhere nearby. It was so quiet, yet so deafening. So overhearing, but it did not make sound. It echoed neither human nor inhuman, like a voice confined in someone's head. It spoke no words, and yet Sienna understood it all the same. It was laughing at her.

"Hey, Sienna!" Shirley shoved the pillow into her face again, snapping her out of her trance. It took her a moment too long to raise her arms and remove the plump cushion, allowing her to breath normally. "Did you remember something, or... something?"

The blonde glanced around, trying to find the source of the voice, despite knowing that she would fail. The rush of adrenaline quickly subsided and Sienna collapsed against the sofa again, as her energy was drained. Shirley lent towards her again, but this time she didn't seem playful. "Are you alright? Worried about the exam?"

"...Yeah, that's probably it."

At that, Shirley actually laughed and shoved the pillow into Sienna's face again. "Don't be! You're the smartest person I know Sienna, you'll do great!" 

Sienna didn't need to force a smile onto her face, though she did turn a considerable shade of red. Shirley was one of those people who you could expect nothing but honest reactions and genuine words from. She would be a terrible politician.

"Sienna Asplund," a voice rang out over the school's intercom. Sienna sat up and glanced towards the PA system. "Could her ladyship, Sienna Asplund please report to Principal Ashford's office. I repeat, could her ladyship, Sienna Asplund please report to Principal Ashford's office."

Sienna and Shirley both exchanged confused glances as the anxious muttering that filled the antechamber mere moments before was replaced with hushed whispers. _Ah, of course. They think that I'm in deep trouble._ Sienna thought as she stood up.

"Does this happen often, Shirley?" She asked her friend as they picked their way through the tangled mess of bodies and papers that littered the ground. Sienna's skin prickled as a hundred gazes burned into her.

"I'm not sure. A boy was called out during my entrance exam, but it was apparently just some issue with his application form that needed to be fixed before he could sit the exam. It'll probably be the same for you."

"Well, let's hope so. I don't want to be told that I've failed one of my previous exams because I didn't fill out my personal details correctly."

As the pair walked through the gaudy school halls, lined with huge bay windows that reached up to the high ceilings, Sienna felt the first vestiges of anger begin to emerge. The last time she had felt this irritated had been when a gang of neighbourhood youths had attacked and tried to assault Keomi. _Tried_ , was the key word. Sienna wouldn't call herself violent, but she wasn't the type to restrain herself if it was one of her almost-sisters being attacked.

They passed several teachers and some students who were staying in the school's dorms over the summer, but none of them gave the pair so much as a second glance. Which was probably a good thing, given the foul mood Sienna was beginning to slip into. She kept mulling over the strange sensation and voice from earlier- trying to convince herself that she was merely being overwhelmed by pre-exam jitters, despite knowing that wasn't the case. Sienna wasn't the type to feel fear in the face of a critical situation. She wouldn't get cold feet and start unwillingly thinking of ways to get out; instead, a grin would involuntarily form on her face and an adrenaline inducing feeling of excitement would fill her. It was something she prided herself on.

But this voice was frustrating her. She didn't know how it had come from nowhere, or how it had sounded so inhuman, and yet resided only within her thoughts. And how she couldn't get it out of her head. The more she dwelled on it, the more she thought, the more her fear gave way to anger.

_That voice, whoever or_ whatever _it was, it was_ laughing _at me!_

And now her pride had been hurt. Sienna almost felt like laughing, that a voice in her head had her so frustrated; that something so silly as a thought could have turned what had been, up to that point, a good day into a much longer, and begrudging existence. She would have laughed if she was willing to find humour in anything at that moment.

"This is the Principal's office," Shirley gestured to a large but plain door. The only noticeable feature upon its blank surface was a gold plaque reading, 'Principal Ashford'. "I'll wait out here- oh, Mr Ashford!"

The door slid open with a hiss and in its towering frame stood a short man, wearing a knitted vest and balding on top. His sky blue eyes met with Sienna's stormy grey for the briefest of seconds, before he lowered himself into a bow.

"My apologises for pulling you out when your exam is so soon, my lady, but there are certain matters that I needed to hear your opinions on."

Sienna clicked her tongue in annoyance. She knew this was a private boarding school that many nobles sent their children to, and the Principal may have been pressured into addressing students with honourifics by some grumpy marquess, but there was no need to address her with such formality. She wasn't a noble after all, nor did she like it when people (usually Japanese) grovelled to her. It wasted time.

"You don't have to address me so formally Mr Ashford. Just Sienna is fine."

The principal looked up at her with a look of confusion, before his eyes hardened with some form of conviction. "I understand. Please see yourself in," he stepped back into his office to make comfortable room for Sienna to walk past. He turned his gaze Shirley. "Miss Fenete? If you need anything I'm afraid it will have to wait. I need to speak with her ladyship first."

What did I just say about not addressing me as 'lady'? And why did he not refer to Shirley as Lady? Is it because I'm an applicant?.. Sienna mused to herself as she glanced back at her friend.

"Oh, I don't need anything Mr Ashford. I was just showing Sienna the way to your office."

"Hmm? You know Sienna, Shirley?" A cool but collected voice purred from the back of the room. Mr Ashford moved completely back into his office, clearing Sienna's view of a dark figure that his form had previously blocked from sight.

"Ah, Lulu!" Shirley's face immediately turned a bright shade of scarlet as she rushed and stumbled over her words to the boy. "Y-yes! She's my friend. The one I told you about- from the dance school!"

The boy was wearing loose fit, everyday clothes that were clean and pressed. He was sitting comfortably on an antique chair, tipping his teacup towards his mouth. The skin showing from the edge of his cuffs was smooth as silk, and his glossy black hair and long eyelashes were artistic masterpieces. The aristocratic, yet plain décor of the Principal's office contributed to the ennui effect that no painter could express.

Yup, he was a stud. He looked like someone who would be featured in those pretty boy magazines that Shirley loved to stare at in the shop windows and swear she would never buy. But, one look at him was also enough to tell Sienna that there were horns on his head and a tail sprouting from his hips.

"I see," the beautiful devil spoke with a certain familiarity that uneased Sienna, teacup still in hand. "Then I'm assuming that you've left that dance school, and you're here to apply to Ashford, Sienna?"

Sienna fought back the urge to laugh. Her mischievous mood was back. She knew a lot about who this devil was. He was Shirley's latest crush. The mysterious bad boy who had passed his exams with top grades but been held back a year for skipping more than half of his classes. By Shirley's account, he acted cold and distant to all but his little sister, but of course hid a soft side beneath his cool exterior. And he apparently held a soft spot for Japanese and the needy.

When Shirley had told Sienna the devil's first name she had actually recognised it. It wasn't a common name, so she assumed she had met him around the settlement before, and only remembered his name. However, now that she was getting a good look at his unmistakable features, Sienna realised and remembered she knew this boy from further back; he had been one of the neighbourhood children she had played with when she lived in the Homeland.

And then, the devil -Lelouch Lamperouge- smiled at her. It sent chills down her back, and Sienna could no longer contain her smirk.

"Yes, you're correct. I believe your name is Lelouch Lamperouge?" Sienna slipped into the room at his invitation and sat down in an armchair he gestured to.

"Indeed. Was Shirley the one who told you that?" There was a cold glint in the boy's violet eyes that unsettled her as he regarded Sienna and Shirley with a calculating gaze. She scoffed under her breath; surely Lelouch knew

"Yes, she talks about you quite a lot." Sienna cast a mischievous glance back at Shirley who was trying and failing to hide her frantic hushing motions. "Did you need something from me?"

Lelouch frowned, his face set in a firm but serious mask, that masked all inward uncertainty. "Yes, I'd like to talk to you," he nodded at the principal who closed the door on Shirley. He took a slow slip of tea, and carefully placed the cup back onto the centre of the saucer, intending to make Sienna wait. "So. What have you been up to over the past five years?"

Sienna smiled at the devil. "Why do you ask? Are you worried about me?"

"Why would I be?"

"Oh, you know," Sienna twirled her hand and stared out the office window to her right. Just because I dropped off the face of the earth for five years.

"I knew where you were and that you were alive," Lelouch said cooly, taking a sip of tea for effect. "Crowley contacted Rueben to let him know that she was taking care of you, and he told me."

"What?" She pretended to faint and gripped the sides of the chair, to prevent herself from falling off. "And you never came to visit?!"

"Why should I have?" He asked succinctly.

"To check up on a childhood friend?"

"Don't call yourself that," the devil dismissed her. "We weren't that close."

"To be fair, I don't think we'll be very close now either. You're really pretentious."

"And you're just as 'witty' as I remember you."

Sienna held back a chuckle and smirk. That was probably the height of his humour.

"Hey, at least I have a sense of humour. You need to chillax."

"'Chillax', isn't a real word."

"Those that deny 'chillax' are the ones that need to chillax the most. Anyway, Mr Ashford," Sienna turned to face the elderly principal and changed the subject. "I wasn't aware you knew Madame Crowley."

"We were aquatinted through your mothers, and struck up a partnership after we learned we were both trying to establish schools here in Area 11. I supplied her with educational materials to cover general education, along with sports equipment for your dance curriculum." His voice was dry and reedy, but carried with it an undercurrent of gentle wisdom that could only be found in the geriatric portion of the population.

"I see. What did Madame do for you?" Sienna's curiosity was peaked. She had never heard of this before.

"I have no problem acquiring educational supplies, so Charline would help fund and plan school trips outside the settlement."

"Because of Madame's knowledge of the ghettos and Japanese settlements?"

"Indeed," the old man hobbled over to another large armchair underneath the window with the help of his finely carved walking stick. "She would occasionally send over a man called Kaname Ohgi to act as a translator and mediator, if our maid was busy caring for Lelouch's sister."

The name Kaname Ohgi rung a bell somewhere in the reaches of Sienna's memory, but she couldn't place where she knew it from. However, the mention of Lelouch's cherished little sister also sparked old memories she had long since buried.

"Oh! I totally forgot about her! How's your sister doing? Umm, Nunna, Noona-"

"Have you honestly forgotten Nunnally's name?" Lelouch snapped in his big-brother mode, clearly affronted.

"It's been five years!"

"And you complain about me forgetting to visit you. At least I remembered your name."

Sienna rolled her eyes. "You may as well not have, since you were clearly never going to use it." 

The devil was staring daggers at her. "Are you actually here to sit the entrance exam or just to mock me?"

"No, of course not. I'm sitting the entrance exam for fun." She replied flatly.

"I don't care if you're bored," Sienna bit her lower lip to prevent herself from laughing. He was taking her seriously? "Stop making trouble for me, the nobles have already begun to notice your presence here."

"Wait, you think I'd waste time like that? Ha!" She let the laugh out and waved her hand casually to dispel Lelouch's building anger. "I was joking. Of course I'm here to apply for Ashford! And what do you mean nobles will notice me?"

"Quit joking around. You're not even hiding your surname!"

Sienna blinked at the devil as she contemplated his words. _Does he mean that because I share a surname with the House of Asplund, maybe the nobles at this school will think I'm one of them. But why would that 'cause trouble' for him? Maybe, if he knows them from class and they find out we know each other, they might try to get to me through him? That's a bit of a stretch..._

From his puffy armchair, Mr Ashford cleared his throat. "Ahem. Lelouch, m'boy," he paused, doubling over in a coughing fit. The two teens waited in awkward silence for his to finish actually clear lying his throat. "You're not in a position to complain about Sienna not hiding her surname."

Again, Sienna was a tad confused as to what the Principal was referring to, but as she stretched her memory back she realised that while she did have recollections of the names Lelouch and Nunnally, she didn't have any familiar feeling for the name Lamperouge. That meant that either Lelouch and Nunnally never told her their last names when they lived in the Homeland, or they were using a different surname and Lamperouge was made up.

"I'm not here to play whataboutism." Lelouch snapped back.

Sienna thrust her arm into the air like a school kid desperate to answer the teachers question. "I call red card for hypocrisy! 'Whataboutism' isn't a real word!"

"Are you sure you're not here to mock me?" He growled out. Sienna decided to give the swelling Mount Lelouch a chance to cool before she teased him again, and turned to Principal Ashford.

"Yes, but it is an added bonus. Anyway, will using my surname really cause that much trouble with the nobles?"

"I'm hoping not. It's unlikely any of them will pay much attention to you. If any of them do however, then please point them in the direction of my office. I should be able to clear any _misunderstandings_ up."

"Thank you for that, Mr Ashford. But I am surprised," Reuben looked at her in a congratulations manner, not sure of what she was referring to. "You organised this school with a similar system to Japanese schools. I wouldn't think any nobles would want to send their children here."

The old man gave a dry bark of a laugh, brought on not only by his sore throat, but also his clear dislike of the word 'nobles' itself.

"Ashford Academy is the only private institution in the Tokyo Settlement. There are a few in the Fukuoka Settlement as well, but the only nobles there are those either in the military or doing business with the Chinese Federation. For noble families who need to stay in Tokyo for administrative reasons, Ashford is the only school they're willing to send their gremlins to, since public schooling is above them. Still though, most Tokyo nobles either leave their children in the Homeland or have them homeschooled, so there are only a handful of them here. There is one in your year, but she's terribly sick, so doesn't dorm here and misses a great deal of school. I doubt you two will have any problems."

"Alright. Does that fix your concerns, Lelouch?" She turned back to the devil and gave him a cheery smile.

"Well enough. The Stadtfeld girl isn't around very often, so I doubt she'll even learn your second name. I'll tolerate you using your surname so long as you stay away from the other year groups."

"No problems there," there was a definite hint of anger in Sienna's smile. "Since I'm new I doubt I'll speak to anyone outside my class. But please don't act like you own me; I can assure you that if you ever try to control me-"

"M'lady,-" Reuben interjected, preventing the teens from arguing further.

"Please don't call me that, Mr Ashford. Just Sienna is fine."

Mr Ashford looked mildly surprised by Sienna's insistence on informality, but took it in stride and even looked slightly pleased with her. "Very well, Sienna. Was Crowley the one who suggested you attend Ashford?"

"I proposed the idea to her, but she's the one who agreed to it and will be paying my school fees."

"I'm assuming Crowley is using money left to you from your parents so pay for this?"

"Yes," Sienna gave him a small nod. "Her only source of income is through the dance school fees, which aren't that much since Honorary Britannians can't make much money, so we use my inheritance to fill any gaps.

"Couldn't your old man help fund you? I'm sure he'd be able to line your pockets; he always bragged about being able to grow money on trees." Sienna looked up at Lelouch's inquiry. "And besides that, he won't answer any of my calls. It's frustrating, because I like to pay off my debts as soon as possible."

She cocked her head to the side. "What?"

"Your father. He contacted Reuben during the occupation and led him to Nunnally and I, and I want to pay off that debt. Do you know how I should contact him?"

Sienna felt a growing knot in her stomach. She wanted to ask why her father had been in contact with Lelouch, but could put enough pieces together to know not to ask. There had been some Britannian citizens in Japan before the colonisation, and those that hadn't been able to reach Britannian occupied areas quickly had suffered brutal retaliation from the Japanese. Each year, a recording of an 8 year old Britannian girl, recounting her escape as a Japanese mob lynched her family, was played on national television to strike fear of the Japanese into the Britannian population. During the time of these attacks, there were also reports of Britannian soldiers taking action to secure the safety of Britannian citizens. If Lelouch and his sister Nunnally had been in Japan at the time of the occupation, then they would have certainly been attacked by Japanese civilians or soldiers. Could it be that Sienna's parents had been the ones responsible for taking Lelouch and his sister to safety? Was that really how he knew them? It sounded like the relationship went further back.

"My father is dead. He died not long after my mother."

"...I see."

Strained silence stretched out across the office, and even the eternally relaxed Reuben Ashford seemed to be getting uncomfortable. Both males were staring at Sienna, to see what kind of reaction she would have to being reminded of her father's death.

"I wasn't aware my father helped you reach Britannian occupied territory."

Both men were taken aback by her blasé reaction to remainders of her father's demise, which only surprised Sienna. Her parents had died five years ago; she'd had five years to get over the deaths of two people she barley even remembered anymore. Yes, she did mourn their deaths, but it no longer hurt her to talk about them.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you know anything about how he and my mother died? Crowley won't talk about it."

Lelouch was the first to answer. He shook his head and said, "I only know that your mother died behind the rear lines, not to far out from Tokyo. I wasn't aware your father was dead until you told me."

"Do you know how she died?"

Lelouch paused, seemingly unsure how to answer. Eventually he sighed and quickly stated, "The same way my mother did."

Sienna paused and looked down, feeling a tad guilty. Even though she had no knowledge that Lelouch's mother had also been killed in the war, she still felt bad even though it wasn't her fault, and didn't press for further details.

"I'm surprised you'd ask that." Lelouch finally muttered.

"Pardon?"

"The Sienna I knew would squirm at anything grizzly."

"You still view me as the Sienna you knew growing up?" She gave him a small smile, lined with a thread of pity.

Lelouch chuckled and finally relaxed back into the armchair. "Not anymore. The Sienna I knew was bratty, arrogant, and naive."

Sienna smirked at him, letting her guard drop slightly with the change in atmosphere. "So a smaller version of you, then?"

"Certainly not," he snapped back, putting on an air of put on offence. "If I am currently anything that you were back then, it would be intelligent."

"Sure," Sienna teased back. "Keep telling yourself that Sherlock, and maybe even you'll believe it."

"Oh, that's how it is?"

"That's how it is."

Lelouch paused and took a sip from the teacup to hide his amused smile. "At the very least, you're not so naive now that I need to worry about you running and tattling about my presence here." He took another sip and looked up at her, his eyes returning to a shielded but cold state. "Or so I believe."

Sienna ignored the cold jab and gave him a sarcastic smile, though she was confused as to why Lelouch was worried about her telling anyone he was attending Ashford. "I'm afraid that you're mistaken. It was my honest intention to leave this place and hire a painter to inscribe, 'Lelouch Lamperouge is at Ashford Academy', on the side of the tallest skyscraper in the settlement. Though now I think about it, maybe getting and airship to fly across Tokyo with a banner saying, 'I know where Lelouch Lamperouge is', would be more fun."

Lelouch scowled at her. "Not funny, Sienna."

Sienna continued by crossing her arms and pouting at the beautiful devil across from her. "Honestly! Men have no sense of humour."

"Tsk!" Lelouch scoffed and took another sip of tea. "That's because we know when to stop talking. You just continue to ramble on and on. You talk so much we've been holding a conversation for eight minutes now, and you still haven't answered my original question. What have you been doing over the past five years?"

Sienna crossed her legs and rested her chin on top of her hands, weaved together by their fingers. "Why do you ask? Are you worried about me?"

Lelouch, who had been drinking again, nearly choked in exasperation. "No. I will not be derailed again. Just answer the question."

Sienna gave closed her eyes and set her face to a serious mask and lowered the tone of her voice. "Are you sure you want to hear my tale?"

The devil was confounded, unsure whether or not the girl before him was being genuine. However, if she had taken after her father there would be no predicting her behaviour, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"Just come out with it."

"It all started in a dark alleyway, next to a sloppy fast food takeout, where the people were slowly being destroyed by cheap, fatty meals."

The devil had been right to doubt her.

Lelouch finally snapped. He slammed his cup down into the desk, splattering hot tea all across the office, and stood up to glare down at her in a way he must of thought was intimidating. "Stop dodging the question!"

"Alright, alright!" Sienna raised her hands in fake surrender. "Your banter meter has clearly reached its limits."

"Sienna."

"I'm joking. I've spent the last five years at Madame's dance school."

"...And?"

"And there's not much more to talk about," there was no need to mention her weekend hobby. Even if she and Lelouch were old friends, Sienna wasn't the type to trust easily, especially not if that someone was a being who deceived others to make them fall. "There's only so much trouble you can get into as a dance student, and most of my neighbours avoided me because Madame let Honorary Britannians attend the school. Because of that the only person I spoke with outside the school was Shirley."

Lelouch eyed her suspiciously. "What trouble did you get into?"

"Well, there was this one time I was camping in the garden and I set fire to the lawn..."

He sighed and covered his face with his hand. "I mean serious trouble. Involving the law."

Sienna paused and thought back to the only time she'd been caught by law enforcement. "We once had police come to the door because I smacked some teen who tried to assault one of my classmates with a microscope."

"With a what?"

"It was a toy microscope I got for my birthday. Unimportant. Anyway, I was only 13 at the time and played it off as self defence, so the officers didn't even take my name or give me a warning. I got off scot free." 

Lelouch gave her an incredulous stare. Sienna smiled back cheerfully. Finally, after a few seconds of staring at each other, the devil yielded. "Alright. I'll let you attend Ashford so long as-"

"I stay away from the other year groups, don't bother the nobles, don't attack people with expensive school microscopes, or cause trouble with law enforcement." Sienna cut in. "Anything else you'd like to add, O Great Rulemaker?"

"The Rulemaker does have something to add," Mr Ashford interjected; stopping the pair from dissolving into yet another squabble. "You can't have parts of your hair dyed different colours. You can dye your hair unnatural colours, but your hair has to be a single colour."

Sienna pulled a handful of strands around to look at them. She had dyed the tips and some strands of her hair strawberry pink a few years ago, and wasn't particularly pleased about having to wash it out. "So I can dye my entire head bright green, but a few strands of pink is out?"

Mr Ashford nodded and gave her the same cheeky smile she had been giving Lelouch. "That's what the Great Rulemaker says."

She chuckled. Now she was attending a school, illogical rules were something she would have to get used to. "Okay. It's not permanent dye, so it should be washed out when the term begins."

The old man nodded and gave her a warm smile. "That's good to hear. You should head back to main hall- the exam will be starting soon."

"Of course," Sienna rose and shook Mr Ashfords hand. "I understand Madame's a supporter of the school, but please treat me like a normal applicant. I can't stand it when I get special treatment."

Lelouch rolled his eyes. "That's certainly another change."

"Don't worry about that," the Principal and Sienna both ignored Lelouch's grumblings. "I make it a policy never to give any student preference. That goes for you and Lelouch as well. You skip too many classes, you will be held back, regardless of your grades."

They both chuckled as the devil bristled. Sienna lifted the hem of her white and pink cherry blossom dress, and gave Lelouch a sarcastic curtesy, the way Madame had taught her. "It's been an absolute pleasure Mr Overachiever. I look forward to seeing you on campus."

Lelouch sat back down again to hide his growing frustration at Sienna's attitude. "Don't get too cocky. You'll revert back to a child again."

"I couldn't have been that bad."

"You were."

Sienna laughed openly for the first time since she had entered the office. If she missed the chance to hang around with such personalities as Lelouch Lamperouge, she would be sorely bummed if she failed her entrance exams. "Then I'll make like no Greek hero ever, and refrain from reaching out to my sense of self worth."

"Please do." Lelouch grumbled as he pushed his way past her and out into the corridor. Waiting by the opposite wall stood Shirley and Madame Crowley, who had finally returned from the bathroom.

"Oh Lelouch," Sienna called to his back in a singsong voice. "Shirley's gonna get bored when I'm stuck in the exam hall."

Next to her, Shirley's face went redder than her flame-kissed hair as she realised what Sienna was doing.

"Mind keeping her company for the next few hours?"

"I promised Nunnally I'd spend the afternoon with her." Was the only response she got.

Sienna gave a dramatically tragic sigh as Shirley stood stock still, utterly mortified by what her friend had tried to do, and by Lelouch's rejection. "I'm sorry Shirley, I must have put him in a bad mood. Oh well, it was worth a try."

"How much studying did you two get in before this little misadventure?" Madame asked, in a tone of voice that made it clear she was done with Sienna's nonsense.

"Enough to call it a successful cramming session." Sienna quipped back, still grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm going to sit outside for a bit," Shirley said, sounding utterly defeated. "Come find me in the central courtyard once your done. Best of luck."

Sienna gave her an apologetic smile. "Thanks Shir. And, sorry about that with Lelouch. I'll leave it up to you from now on."

Shirley stared blankly at her before laughing. "Jokes on you, Sienna! At least I've still got a chance. I don't know what you said in there, but you really pissed him off." 

The blonde chuckled and scratched the back of her head. "I may have pushed him a little too far." Both girls laughed again and Sienna turned down the long hallway and walked with Madame back towards the exam hall and her impending doom. "See you after the exam, Shirley!"

"Remember! Central courtyard!"

"Sorry, my brain's too full of pointless history knowledge. You'll have to come find me."

Shirley waved her fist in annoyance. "Don't make me!"

Beside her, Madame placed a hand on her shoulder as they walked side-by-side. "Are you yelling because you're anxious or because you had too much coffee this morning?"

"It'll be the coffee Madame. I'm not that worried about the exam." Sienna reassured her. Madame made a small smile; the largest one she made.

"Good. So I don't have any reason to worry."

Sienna and Madame walked in silence down the hall, as the blonde waited for Madame to ask why she had been called into the Principals office, but the question never came. In the end, it was up to Sienna to strike up conversation.

"Madame?"

"Yes, Sienna?"

"You never told my Principal Ashford was the one supplying you with all those textbooks and stationary kits."

Madame gave her a sly look out of the corner of her dark eyes. "My my, Sienna. I didn't realise you were so interested in helping me run the nitty gritties of the dance school."

Sienna scoffed and turned her face away to look out the large windows lining the Academy's corridors. "I'm already sticking my neck out by helping you with your weekend job, so please don't try and rope me into handling a business."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: (spoiler warning: reasonable)
> 
> • I know I described Lelouch that way. That's only to show that he is good looking and important. DO NOT SHIP LELOUCH AND SIENNA. THEY ARE RELATED AND THEY DON'T GET ALONG.
> 
> • You'll find out what this weekend job is in the next chapter.


End file.
